KELLY SOTHERTON’S reign as Great Britain’s best all-round woman athlete may not survive a third season. The 2004 Olympic bronze medal-winner, who took over from Denise Lewis that year as the nation’s No 1 heptathlete, starts the second day of her event at the European Championships here this morning under siege from Jessica Ennis, the girl she calls “tadpole”.

After four events, Sotherton is in the silver-medal position and Ennis in the bronze. Carolina Klüft, the Olympic, world and European champion, is far enough ahead for the gold medal to be out of sight. The challenge to her supremacy effectively ended when Eunice Barber, of France, pulled out after two events because of injury. But only five points separate Sotherton and Ennis, who, at 20, is nine years the Commonwealth champion’s junior and was so nicknamed by her because of her diminutive size.

Speaking last month, Ennis had warned people to watch for further progress, having taken the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne in March. The European stage is more competitive than the Commonwealth one, so a medal here would be another step up. “I will hopefully reach my peak in 2012,” Ennis said. “However, I have huge plans for the present, especially for the European Championships.”

Only a year after winning the European junior title, Ennis is making a seamless transition into the senior ranks. A psychology student at Sheffield University, she won the last event of the first day, the 200 metres, to edge out Sotherton, who was second.

Ennis finished third in the high jump and fourth in the 100 metres hurdles, but her nineteenth place in the shot is a reminder of her weakness in the throws. With the long jump, javelin, and 800 metres to come, in that order, it is the middle event, if any, which stands to deprive her of a medal. Paradoxically, it is Sotherton’s weakest event, too.

It was while throwing a javelin ten days ago that Sotherton hurt her back. “My injury held up and it is good to be in one piece,” Sotherton said. And Ennis? “I cannot believe I am third. It gives me great confidence for tomorrow.”

Can it be only two years since Britain won gold in the 4 x 100 metres at the Athens Olympics? The decline since then has been swift: no finalists in the World Championships last year; eighth at the Commonwealth Games.

Dwain Chambers and Mark Lewis-Francis may have qualified for the semi-finals but neither looked the part yesterday. Tyrone Edgar was eliminated.

The heptathlon aside, it was a day of little comfort for the Britain team. Carl Myerscough failed to qualify for final of the shot while Shirley Webb and Zoe Derham finished close to last in the women’s hammer qualifying round.

All three men’s high jumpers were eliminated and all three British runners in the women’s 10,000 metres were lapped in a race won by Inga Abitova, from Russia.

Only Andrew Baddeley, of the three British men in the 1,500 metres, progressed, although Michael East fell. On a happier note, Becky Lyne, in the 800 metres, and Tim Benjamin, in the 400 metres, look like medal prospects.

Graham Hedman and Robert Tobin, Benjamin’s team-mates, also reached the semifinals, as did Amanda Pritchard in the 800metres, a British protest having been upheld after she was brought down on the final bend. One event in which Britain has three finalists is the men’s long jump.

• Lord Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is lobbying for support to introduce harsher penalties for drugs offenders. Coe said that he wants the guilty to be banned for life from IAAF World Series events.